Headed back for the big speech

President Obama is now shaking the hands of a few more people in Ramallah as he boards his Black Hawk helicopter for the flight back to Jerusalem.

Obama’s next scheduled public activity is the major speech of his visit, set for 4:40 p.m. in front of a diverse crowd of Israelis at Jerusalem’s International Convention Center. That’s over two hours from now, giving the president some prep time before what is sure to be a heavily scrutinized event.

Dov Weisglass, Ariel Sharon’s former top adviser, tells Channel 2 TV that while Netanyahu declared his support for a two-state solution loud and clear yesterday, the facts on the ground point in the opposite direction, and within 20 years it will be too late. Palestinian statehood would require Israel to relinquish most of the territories, Weissglass says, and Netanyahu either doesn’t want to do that, can’t do that, “or maybe both.”